Dr. Felipe Medalla with the FEF Board of Trustees and Fellows.

 

After more than two years of online gatherings due to the pandemic, the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) finally held its Fellows Meetings at the Manila Golf and Country Club in 2022.

The first Fellows Meeting was held on June 21 with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Dr. Felipe Medalla as guest speaker. Medalla talked about monetary policy and post-pandemic fiscal consolidation.

In the same event, an Exemplary Service Award was given to Ranna Maih Pintor, FEF’s former Assistant Director for Policy, for her outstanding work at FEF for more than eight years.

 

Former FEF Assistant Director for Policy Ranna Maih Pintor received the Exemplary Service Award for her eight-year service in advancing the Foundation’s advocacies.

 

New board members

On September 1, FEF held its general membership meeting and elections. During the meeting, FEF named its new set of fellows: Dr. Fermin Adriano, Dr. Karlo Adriano, Ramon Lopez, Sharon Garin, Emmanuel Bonoan, and Cezar Consing—bringing the total number of active fellows to 107.

NEDA Secretary Arsenio Baliscan with the new FEF fellows (from left to right): Dr. Karlo Adriano, Ramon Lopez, Sharon Garin, Emmanuel Bonoan, Dr. Fermin Adriano, and Cezar Consing.

 

FEF President Calixto Chikiamco presented the Foundation’s recent events and projects, followed by the announcement of the new set of Board of Trustees:

• Chaiman – Roberto de Ocampo
• Vice-Chairmen – Romeo Bernardo and Simon Paterno
• President – Calixto Chikiamco
• Treasurer – Bernadine Siy
• Corporate Secretary – Ricardo Balatbat III
• Trustees
  • Kristine Alcantara
  • Joseph Emmanuel Angeles
  • Arturo Corpuz
  • Jose Jesus Disini
  • Christopher Matthew Ilagan
  • Vaughn Montes
  • Jeffrey Ng
  • Perry Pe
  • Maria Cecilia Soriano
  • Margarito Teves

 

NEDA Director-General Arsenio Balisacan with some of the newly elected FEF Board of Trustees for 2022-2024 (from left to right): Arturo Corpuz, Perry Pe, Calixto Chikiamco, Simon Paterno, Vaughn Montes, Romeo Bernado, Kristine Alcantara, Bernardine Siy, Maria Cecilia Soriano, Garry Teves, and Ricardo Balatbat III.

 

FEF also invited Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic Development Authority to lay down the economic plans and programs of the current administration.

Socio-economic director-general Dr. Arsenio Balisacan discussed the economic agenda of the Marcos administration.

 

The Fellows Meetings are regularly conducted by FEF to encourage fellows to discuss the latest economic issues in the country. The fellows are comprised of top economists, former and present Cabinet secretaries and undersecretaries, members of the academe and business sector, and opinion makers, among others. As travel and mobility restrictions ease, FEF plans to hold more events in person next year.

by Angela Arnante